When they’re fresh, you can use goldenberries in desserts, like jams and pies … just like a berry. But to me, this is one fruit that really benefits from being dried, as the sugars condense and the complex flavor becomes much more intense. I’ll usually look to acquire double the amount that I need for a recipe, as my first step is to eat half of my dried goldenberry bounty obsessively. So that’s one way to enjoy them, I suppose. In recipes, however, a great way to use them is with winter squash, just like cranberries. I like to take dried goldenberries and some juice, briefly simmer them together into a reduction (a fun process to watch as the goldenberries plump up like they’re excited), then toss the resulting glaze over roasted winter squash and toasted pecans. Hello holiday side dish.

Goldenberry Glazed Acorn Squash with Pecans

1 cup raw pecans
4 acorn squash, halved lengthwise, seeds and membranes removed, then cut into rounds
3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
¾ cup dried goldenberries, coarsely chopped
4 cups apple juice
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 sprig fresh rosemary (whole)
sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

On a baking sheet, spread the pecans into an even layer. Toast until fragrant, about 6 minutes, and let cool. Chop coarsely.

Spread the squash rounds onto a couple of baking sheets in a single layer and brush cut sides of the squash with the coconut oil. Season with salt and black pepper, and bake until tender and lightly browned, about 35 minutes, flipping once, after about 25 minutes.

While the squash is baking, combine the goldenberries, apple juice, maple syrup, rosemary, and a pinch of sea salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has reduced to about a third and the goldenberries appear rounded, about 15-20 minutes. Keep warm to prevent the contents from solidifying.

When the squash is ready, transfer to a mixing bowl and add the pecans. Remove and discard the rosemary from the glaze and immediately drizzle the goldenberry mixture on top of the squash. Toss gently, and transfer to a serving bowl, drizzling any glaze at the bottom of the bowl on top of the finished dish. May be served hot or cold. Serves 8

©2011 www.JulieMorris.net

Whenever I’m chatting with someone new and say “I’m in the natural foods industry,” I usually receive that kind of vacant nodding response followed by an ambiguous “Ohhhh.” It’s the same response that I, in turn, likely offer when someone tells me they’re in the field of, say, “computer science.” (I still really have no idea what that means – my apologies.) But for every blank stare I provoke, I wish I could arrange for an immediate tour of a Natural Products Expo. These 3 day events never fail as a huge, tangible reminder of the real “natural food business,” complete with the newest cool projects underway, as well as all the amazing people behind the scenes (and sometimes leading the scene!) that are making the healthy and green choices in our grocery stores, well, happen.

There are 2 major expos in the US each year — one on the west coast, one on the east coast. This year, the eastern expo was held in Baltimore, which I went to of course. I completely forgot to take pictures, but it’s probably a good thing considering the overwhelming humidity and my hair’s magnimous response (ever the reliable barometer).  Frizzy lioness look-alike aside, I was able to gather some good info on a collection of healthy stuff  — just a sampling of what to keep an eye out for.

New Products & Trends

Truly, there are new products being launched right and left at these sorts of events, including the fantastic new superfood Navitas Power Snacks that I essentially lived off of for 3 days straight (unintentional, but frankly quite successful!). I was also thrilled to watch the unveiling of Vega Sport, an extensive new line of natural products for active lifestyles – including an electrolyte formula that won Best New Product! The ready-made raw food snack category is continuing to grow, and though I would much rather make my own, I did try some tasty kale chips.

One new “trendy” ingredient that kept coming up over and over again was coconut. Between coconut water, coconut oil, coconut butter, coconut sugar (which is the same thing as palm sugar), coconut snacks and SO much more, coconut seemed to be on every company’s mind/tongue!  I’m happy to see manufacturers looking to coconuts as a good source of healthy and natural fats, a healthier sugar option, or even as a way of getting nature-made electrolytes. But I’m wary of the escalating hype of coconut being a cure-all food. It’s a great natural food with some bona fide benefits, it’s sustainable to grow, and it also tastes delicious. End of story.

New People & Projects

Sure it’s fun to taste every product you could dream of finding at Whole Foods, but what’s even more fun is meeting all the people behind the products and information. Though I spent most of my time with the wonderful folks at the Navitas Naturals booth (that’s me with Navitas’ president, Wes Crain, in the photo above), it was inevitable to run into some natural food rockstars. One highlight was engaging with Chris Kilham, aka the Medicine Hunter, who is overflowing with worldly expertise about superfoods and medicinal plants, and can back that knowledge with hands-on stories about the cultures that grow them. The amazing people from one of New York’s favorite sustainable restaurants Candle 79 were also on hand, bubbling with excitement about their beautiful new cookbook due out in November. The one and only chef Jason Wrobel was also a treat to chat with, whose DVD and classes on vegan/raw foods are action-packed with awesome. And I also ran into the lovely Mimi Clark, aka the Veggie Gourmet, whose superb vegan cooking classes are practically a vegetarian household name.

Additionally, I had the great pleasure of meeting up with one of my favorite people, Gena Hamshaw, who is the founder of the highly acclaimed website Choosing Raw (and who coincidentally also helped to proof my book, Superfood Cuisine!). And I even got a bonus the day after the expo was over: after attending Brendan Brazier’s talk in the area, the good conversation was a-flowin’ with an old friend, vegan bodybuilder and author Robert Cheeke, as well as new friend, Matt Frazier of No Meat Athlete.

Maybe I’ll see you there next year?

Lastly, THANK YOU to everyone who entered the Thrive Giveaway! I loved reading all your comments! Congratulations to the randomly selected* winner Katrina (comment 17) who will receive a signed copy of Thrive Foods! Didn’t win? Chin up — I may just have another giveaway soon…

*Winner randomly generated by random.org

I promised I had a special recipe to share on the way, and at last, the hungry wait is over!

Well, almost over … first, I can’t help but briefly gush about what a true pleasure it’s been reading all the comments on the Thrive Foods Giveaway so far. What does positive environmental change look like? Apparently, it looks like us: from the person who is looking to incorporate a few more meatless meals each week, to the person who avoids using disposable plasic, to the person who chooses a car-less daily work commute, to the person who epitimizes local food by having a vegetable garden. One of these actions is awesome enough, and when you read all of these actions collectively, it’s downright inspiring. Have you entered the giveaway yet? There’s still time to enter here now.

As I mentioned in the last post, this week’s special recipe is one that I developed for Brendan Braziers’ fascinating new book, Thrive Foods. One look at the photo above, and I think you’ll agree, this entree is begging to be the subject of your next recipe adventure. With a new crop of winter squash just now coming into season, this dish features my favorite squash of all: Kabocha (aka The Japanese Pumpkin). Kabocha is naturally so immensly flavorful, that it asks for very little from us in the seasoning department, offering decadant, impressive tasting results just on its own. But. Mix kabocha in with some comforting wild rice, toss in a sage-infused “butter” (made from coconut oil and simple, fresh flavors), and you’ve got the makings of a masterpiece. In fact, Brendan names this recipe as one of his top 5 favorite dishes ever. (I’ll let you in on a secret: when he first taste-tested it, I went to go get a little more sage from the garden, and when I came back the recipe was GONE. It’s one of those dishes.)

To make this a truly well-rounded meal, I like to serve this with a generous salad, made with mixed baby greens, shredded carrots, chopped walnuts and a simple vinaigrette.

And that’s how we do Thrive Foods.

She’s also a mom of two, and from the looks of things, her kidlets are sprouting into little superheroes of their own. In fact, her five year old son, Bryce (see picture above), has taken a particular interest in his nutrition. After babbling about “antioxidants” since he was a toddler, Bryce has recently crowned himself with the honorable title of “The Grand Chia Master.” (I believe this position of power is a “forever” kind of deal, in case you were wondering.) GC Master looks forward to the event of making homemade superfood smoothies (aka a “science experiment”), adding in colorful powders, vivid fruits, leafy greens, and chia seeds (of course!) before creating the most awesomely delicious kid-friendly sludge.

Did I mention he’s five?

Kids may be picky, but it’s not the nutrients in food they’re picky about; many times it’s the way nutritious food is offered in the first place. When presented with tasty healthy options — and given the opportunity to make their own choices — the beneficial foods children gravitate toward is often genuinely inspiring.

A while back, I read about a fascinating study done on sugary cereal. The goal was to test how much sugar made a child happy enough to eat his or her breakfast. In the study, two separate groups of young children were allowed to help themselves to cereal, fruit, sugar packets, milk and juice for breakfast. The only difference between the two groups was that while one group was offered sugary cereal like Fruit Loops and Frosted Flakes, the other group was given low-sugar cereal like Rice Krispies. The children were instructed to simply prepare breakfast for themselves.

Although both groups ate almost the same amount of calories, the calories derived from sugar in the sugar-cereal group were almost double compared to the low sugar cereal group — even though many children in the low-sugar group added sugar packets to their bowl. Additionally, “more than half of kids given low-sugar options added fruit to their bowls, versus 8 percent of those eating sugary cereal.” Can you imagine the results if they included a third group, with a make-your-own smoothie option?

Children eat profoundly instinctively — very much on a “want” basis — and although taste (and presentation) is a defining factor too, sometimes it’s just about presenting a child with a choice (such as the choice to include sugar in cereal as opposed to a pre-sweetened variety). Including abundant nutrient-dense superfoods like yum-worthy seeds, berries, and even hidden greens, can be excellent ways to keep children happy, stocked with healthy nutrition, and inevitably too full/satisfied to crave refined or sugary foods. This method is known as the “crowding out” theory.

In fact, the crowding out theory works with adults too. Which, if I’m not mistaken, means the Grand Chia Master indeed has a lesson to share with us all.

Bryce’s Grand Chia Master Superfood Smoothie Recipe

frozen mango chunks, to taste

frozen mixed berries, to taste

1 frozen acai smoothie pack

1 banana

18 drops Chloroxygen (liquid chlorophyll drops)

2 tablespoons chia seeds

2 tablespoons ground flax powder

2 tablespoons hemp seeds

2 tablespoons cacao nibs

2 cups arugula

1 scoop Macro Greens powder

2 cups coconut water

Blend until awesome, and serve.

It’s high-time we feature a delicious recipe from Superfood Cuisine here, don’t you agree? Doing so, on my end at least, has not been a particularly easy process. Indeed, like picking a favorite child, I’ve been utterly at loss while deciding which of the 100+ superfood recipes to share. Seriously! I love them all (obviously), and each is worthy of the extremely fancy spotlight of a blog post. Which oh which recipe to choose?

Attempting to summon my recipe decision-making mojo earlier today, I took a walk outside. Ironically, it was there I found my answer staring me in the face, right inside my little herb garden. If you have a garden or have visited the produce section at the market lately, you’re likely aware that this time of year has a way of making some herbs, like basil, a little, well, “overly ambitious.” My homegrown basil is certainly no different, and though I love its flavor, I couldn’t help but pass a little judgment upon the plant today as I observed it unabashedly hogging up almost the entire pot it’s supposed to share with other green savories. Calm down there, basil; clearly it’s time we put you to use. And by “use,” I of course mean it’s an ideal time to make my “Secret Pesto” recipe from the cookbook.

I call this recipe a secret not because I’m not going to tell you how to make it (I’ve never understood recipe secrets – I mean, it’s FOOD, not the blueprints to a rocketship). Rather, this pesto is “secret” because it includes a profoundly nutrient-rich superfood within the sauce that you would NEVER guess was there: wheatgrass. Wheatgrass? You bet I’m serious. While most people easily embrace “everyday” superfoods like spinach or quinoa, if you have family or friends who are skeptical of including more niche superfoods like wheatgrass, this is the perfect way to show them just how easy it is to boost a meal’s nutrition with superfoods without compromising flavor. I like to sneak in the “secret,” serve this awesome meal up, and then share the extra good news after the bowls have been licked clean.

Like all the recipes in Superfood Cuisine, the food is designed not only to be aesthetically attractive and full of fabulous flavor, but also packed with health-giving purpose. From this recipe, here are just a few of the things you can look forward to…per each fabulous serving:

• 8 grams of protein from grain-like quinoa
• 5 grams protein + iron and minerals from hemp seeds
• Anti-inflammatory Omega 3 fats from EFA Oil
• Around 50% RDA Vitamin A from basil and spinach leaves
• Over 70 vitamins & minerals from wheatgrass powder

Amazing, yeah? I think so too. Some secrets are too good not to share.

Quinoa with Secret Pesto & Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Makes 4-6 hearty servings

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup (packed) sun-dried tomatoes
2 cups (packed) chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup hemp seeds
1/3 cup EFA oil
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon freeze-dried wheatgrass powder
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon minced garlic
4 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups (packed) baby spinach, cut into chiffonade (aka extra thin)

DIRECTIONS:

Soak the sun-dried tomatoes in some hot water for 30 minutes or until soft. Slice thinly.

Use a food processor to blend the basil, hemp seeds, both oils, wheatgrass powder, nutritional yeast, sea salt and garlic into a pesto sauce. In a large bowl, toss some of the pesto (use as much as desired) with the quinoa, sun-dried tomatoes and spinach. Serve cold or gently heat.

- Recipe and photo from Superfood Cuisine: Cooking with Nature’s Most Amazing Foods